A growing global energy demand resulting from an ever increasing world population and
scale of economic activity poses one of the world's main challenges for the future. The consequences
of this rise in population and economic development include, among others, 'excessive'
fossil fuel energy consumption and increasing greenhouse gas emissions. The use
of renewable energy sources (RES) can help to mitigate this pressure on energy demand. In
connection with this, the European Union's climate policy strategy, in tandem with a reduction
in greenhouse gases (GHGs), presses for the development of renewable energy. The
generation of renewable energy, in particular biomass, contributes to economic development
through the creation of employment opportunities. In particular, rural regions with limited development
opportunities can benefit from renewable energy production and dissemination.
European rural border regions are disadvantaged primarily because of their location, poor
infrastructure and smaller populations. Border regions with a significant division of agricultural land
and forest, however, can benefit from the increase of biomass and bioenergy generation.
There are, nevertheless, many barriers associated with bioenergy development in general,
and in cross-border regions in particular. Despite the fact that they are a unique category
and require special consideration there is almost an academic void in respect of research
focusing on renewable energy linked to border regions.
This research addresses the following key aspects: the crucial factors required for bioenergy
dissemination and the special characteristics of European border regions, and analyzes
stakeholders ' perceptions along the bioenergy supply chain. Using the two-phase design
inspired by Barton and Lazarsfeld (1984) in a mixed research design, semi-structured expert
interviews and online/offline surveys were conducted with stakeholders based in the border
regions between Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany, with their opinions measured
using a Likert scale questionnaire. Both strands of data collection delivered similar perceptions,
especially in the case of the stakeholders ' motivation for biomass use and bioenergy
generation, in addition to differing assessments regarding the barriers for the growing of biomass,
and bioenergy generation - mainly prompted by the diverse economic and legal envi ronments
in each country. Among other findings, the study identified the fact that current
market barriers resulting mostly from different financial incentives could be reduced if, at a
European level, the various financial incentives were harmonized. In addition, common sustainable
standards for bioenergy generation are required, in order to support the sustainable
use of biomass and bioenergy generation. Moreover, the intensification of the transfer of
knowledge and communication between cross-border parties, with the support of regional
energy agencies, seems to be necessary, in order to improve knowledge of market opportu nities
across border regions, and hence reduce the transaction costs in relation to bioenergy
cooperation.